Porsche and Frauscher take to the waves with all-electric 850 Fantom Air boat

The Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air sees Porsche become the latest carmaker to put its name to a powerful speedboat. The company’s partnership with Frauscher has an ulterior motive. Just as Polestar teamed up with electric hydrofoil specialist Candela to highlight the company’s battery tech, Porsche has turned to the Austrian shipyard to demonstrate the drive tech that’ll be underpinning the forthcoming, next-generation all-electric Porsche Macan.

The 850 Fantom Air is an electric sports boat, handbuilt at Frauscher’s facility in Ohlsdorf. Recently given a workout on the waters of Lake Garda in Italy after a lengthy development process, the boat will make its first public appearance at the 2024 Düsseldorf International Boat Show before going on sale to the public.

Based on the Frauscher 858 Fantom Air day cruiser, the Porsche version is 8.67m and has space for up to nine passengers, with a swim platform and two sun loungers at the rear and a couple of benches up front. The cockpit seats bear the Porsche shield, while the steering wheel is a classic Porsche design, finished in materials that’ll withstand salt and spray – the seats are also upholstered in artificial leather for the same reason. 

Porsche has gone a step further than Polestar and this ‘eFantom Air’ incorporates drivetrain technology directly derived from the innards of the new Macan. This includes parts of Porsche’s Premium Platform Electric system, from the 400 kW motor and electronics to the 100 kWh battery. 

Other parallels with road-going Porsche’s are the ability to select pre-programmed ‘driving modes,’ in this case Docking, Range, Sport and Sport Plus settings. The first keeps the speed down for driving in harbours and other speed-limited areas, while the maximum distance achievable in Range mode is roughly 45km, providing you stick to the optimum cruising speed of 41km/h (22 knots). In Sport Plus mode the boat will top out at an impressive 85 km/h (46 knots), although this will pummel the battery in short measure. 

Stefan Frauscher, managing director of Frauscher Shipyard, described the boat as a ‘real milestone in the industry. The electric version of the Fantom Air is better than the version with an internal combustion engine in all driving characteristics, such as top speed, acceleration and handling – and at the same time locally emission-free.’ Finally, the new boat can be fast charged using the same system found in Porsche’s electric models, with a suggested time of half an hour to charge the battery from 10 per cent to 80 per cent. 

Studio FA Porsche also designed the cockpit, creating a gloss black instrument panel surrounded by a frameless tinted acrylic glass windscreen. The five dials on the top of the dash reference the classic Porsche dashboard layout, with a start button located on the left of the steering wheel, just like in road-going Porsches. The studio also shaped the two front seats, drawing direct inspiration from sports car design. 

Other equipment includes folding tops to shade the passenger areas, a 12in information screen with echo sounder and chart plotter, a high-end Bluetooth audio system and LED ambient and underwater lighting. Porsche has made available its copious colour palette so that customers can exactly match their car(s). Just 25 boats will be built in the first production run. 

Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air, from €561,700, FrauscherxPorsche.com